Dr.Martin Luther King used many forms of appeal out of all of them he mostly uses logical appeal and emotional appeal, however he definitely used them more on different occasions the best examples of this is between two very different speeches/writings that he made. The speech “I Have A Dream” and, the writing “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” were very different in many different ways. They had the same subject, but they also had very different appeals. The speech “I have a dream was very influential and had many great truths in it it showed that as a nation we should come together and follow our promise of freedom and liberty, “They were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir this note was a promise to all men,yes,black men as well.” (Martin Luther King I have a dream page 261-262 paragraph 4) in that line of text for i have a dream martin luther king took a very pathos appeal because he needed to get people excited, he needed to stir up emotions to help people bring up issues and be proud of their beliefs. In the speech i have a dream there …show more content…
In Martin Luther King's letter he took more of a logos appeal because it was more of a situation that required logic and explanation to tell why he was doing what he was doing As Martin Luther said. “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms” (Martin Luther King a letter from birmingham jail P. 271-272 Paragraph 2) in this instance Martin Luther sets the mood that this will be a serious letter with a very serious tone, and will therefore have more of a logos appeal since he is trying to convince the clergymen. He also used some pathos trying to invoke strong emotions from all reading this that they are also
Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered as motivation to fight for their rights and help paint the picture of what America could look like in the future. He does this by in the beginning saying that even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed African Americans are not treated as normal citizens. By saying this Martin Luther King Jr. was saying we should not just be content with being free from slavery. That now it is time to fight for our rights and to end discrimination because of the color on one’s skin.
A logical appeal is an appeal that uses reason, facts and documented evidence to make a point. King makes a logical appeal later in the letter, in which he replies to being named an extremist. He answers to this by saying that many historical figures today are considered heroes were thought to be extremists during their time. He quotes people such as Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. He uses reason to create a logical appeal to the reader. That is if he is an extremist for campaigning for freedom, then all of these other people are extremist as well. Using second hand evidence and the proof of others can too be used in constructing logical appeals. King offers us an example of this when he points out how the Birmingham police abused the activists. Though he does not provide a informant, the occasion was extensively broadcasted. King uses the proof to refute the clergymen's charges. Direct descriptions of the actions can also be used to construct a logical appeal. King uses a actual explanation to express a main point. He tells about how he expected the white religious leader...
The largest rhetorical appeal used by King is logos, which basically deals with logic as well as the evidence offered to support it. In an attempt to persuade the audience, King utilizes facts and examples throughout the entire letter so that the audience can easily relate and comprehend. As the letter begins, King elaborates why he is jailed, as well as the reasoning for being in Birmingham to protest. He says: “Just as the eight century prophets left their little villages and carried their “thus saint the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Greco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of the freedom beyond my particular hometown” (King).
To begin with, Dr Martin Luther King influenced his audience through the use of written techniques. A written technique applied in the speech is repetition, which is the restatement of words or phrases.
King uses the phrase "I have a dream today," twice in his own paragraph. This statement was probably spoken with great emphasis since it gave the listeners the desire to change "today" instead of continuing to be discriminated against. Martin Luther King's speech could very well have been titled something else, but because of his use of anaphora which strongly emphasized these words, it earned itself the title "I Have a Dream." Martin Luther King's use of alluding to other historic documents, which also deal with equality issues, helped his speech reach the listener. These allusions were probably geared more towards the white listeners than it was towards the black because it provided textual evidence from past documents which stated that all men were created equal and all people should have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Martin Luther King Jr. uses the emotional appeal most often than any other appeal and using it to his advantage, he makes it extremely effective in persuading the reader. He uses emotional appeal in many ways throughout his “letter from Birmingham Jail.” In one of the ways, he uses strong words as one of the most effective ways to relate to the reader and make them feel connected to him. He mentions in his letter that “When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters.” Words such as vicious lynch, drown, hate-filled, curse, kick, and kill are all strong words that persuade a negative picture in the readers mind. Such examples he uses to define the evil acts of segregation appeals to the reader as unjust and unfair. King uses most of his emotional appeals from midway through the letter and keeps using it until the end. King relates himself to the audience, the clergymen, and shows the similarities ...
In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous “A Letter from the Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 while he was imprisoned in the Birmingham Jail for being involved in nonviolent protests against segregation. The letter is directed at eight white clergymen from Alabama who were very cynical and critical towards African Americans in one of their statements. Throughout the letter, King maintains an understanding yet persistent tone by arguing the points of the clergymen and providing answers to any counterarguments they may have. In the letter, King outlines the goals of his movement and says that he will fight racial inequality wherever it may be. Dr. King uses the appeal three main rhetorical devices – ethos, logos, and pathos – in order to firmly, yet politely, argue the clergymen on the injustices spoken of in their statement.
...s for the African American communities throughout America. Dr. King used this letter to speak out against the injustices taking place in Birmingham and beyond the cities borders. Dr. King’s was very successful in his use of these three appeals.
One of the greatest speakers for the black civil rights movement was Martin Luther King, Jr. Two of his pieces that stand out the most, were the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream”. The Letter From Birmingham Jail is exactly that, it’s a letter that King wrote while he was in jail, to a group of clergy members who disapproved of his actions in Birmingham City. I Have a Dream was a speech delivered in Washington, DC at Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. This speech was written to inspire people to look beyond themselves and also demanded the country unity focusing on equality for all without focusing on the color of their skin; King also wanted the people to take a stand in a nonviolent manner.
In Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham Jail, pathos, ethos, and logos are vividly expressed throughout it. All three rhetorical devices are vital to the meaning of the letter; the most influential being pathos. MLK takes advantage of the human body’s strong response to emotion. It is illustrated in his appeal to empathy, exercised mainly through gruesome depictions; his call for action to his peers, as shown when he expresses his disappointment in them as they preserve order over justice; and his strategic use of pathos as a supporting effort for both ethos and logos arguments.
In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail) written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the three artistic appeals of Aristotle are plainly apparent, especially logos. Dr. King repeatedly appeals to logos (Ruszkiewicz) throughout the entire piece; particularly when he says he was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist then gradually gained a matter of satisfaction from the label. He is very impassioned in his language and tone in this part of the letter, yet still makes a strong argument for logic. Despite the overwhelming emotional and personal investment involved Dr. King still allows logic to prevail thus lending him a huge amount of credibility. As a member of the community being persecuted in this case, he might have had trouble remaining objective but clearly he doesn’t let his own pathos take center stage. All in all the use of logic and concise reasoning make a strong argument for the effectiveness of the letter in general.
On August 28th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous and powerful speech I Have a Dream, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The purpose of his speech was to fight for the civil rights, equality, and to stop the discrimination against African-American people. His use of imagery, repetition, and metaphor in his speech had created an impact with his audience. King used the three rhetorical devices, ethos, pathos and logos to help the audience understand the message of his speech.
Alleged by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his “I Have A Dream” speech on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Dr. King said “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Meaning there shall be equality between one another. Dr. King grew up around pastors in a Baptist Church, so when he gave his speeches he sounded like a preacher. He was a well-educated person who graduated from Boston University and received his Doctorate degree. Plus he was a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race. Being a strong worker and having knowledge of civil rights made him more of a confident and convincing speaker. Therefore, In Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, he pointed out to African Americans, that in the near future the African Americans would have equal rights and liberty like all the other Caucasians have. In this speech I have found Dr. King using logos, ethos, and pathos to get his attention across about equality and to make his speech sound more effective. Out of the three rhetorical appeals I have found that Dr. King used ethos the most predominately followed by the second most effective, pathos, and how King is a convincing speaker to his audience.
In Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech, King makes use of an innumerable amount of rhetorical devices that augment the overall understanding and flow of the speech. King makes the audience feel an immense amount of emotion due to the outstanding use of pathos in his speech. King also generates a vast use of rhetorical devices including allusion, anaphora, and antithesis. The way that King conducted his speech adds to the comprehension and gives the effect that he wants to rise above the injustices of racism and segregation that so many people are subjected to on a daily basis.